


Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

by Forest_Girl



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Based off of artiserie's superhero AU, Enhanced Strength, Gen, Magic, Other, Property absorption, Revealing Identities, This took super long to write bc school is annoying, idk what else to tag, pyrokinesis, super speed, unmasking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 02:33:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4859723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forest_Girl/pseuds/Forest_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matthias was your run of the mill robin hood figure. Despite having Pyrokinesis, at most he would simply help out the Fire Department and maybe help a couple cats stuck up tree.</p>
<p>This changes when a very dangerous arsonist nearly kills a six year old, and Matthias feels obligated to find the man and stop him at whatever costs necessary. Apparently, four other people had the same idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

A lot of people called Matthias an idiot, and he couldn’t really entirely blame them. It was mainly Lukas who did this, but sometimes ‘idiot’ would be said with a small smile and a chuckle, a term of endearment that would only be shown to him.

Thinking about that tiny smile made this job a tiny bit easier. Just a tiny bit.

His clothing was odd for sneaking into a factory, a short sleeved shirt with no gloves, cargo pants, and a pair of run-down sneakers. If this were a normal run of the mill thing that he usually did, he would have a backpack slung over his shoulder to hold any information or equipment he would pick up.

This was not a run of the mill thing. ‘Run of the mill’ would be assisting the police with catching a perp, or maybe putting out an out of control fire to help out the local fire department. Going to kill a man who had been starting the fires was not a thing he did. He hated murder—avoided at all costs, really—but the most recent fire had been in a car, and the resulting explosion nearly killed a kid. A tiny, innocent six year old that probably didn’t know what murder was, was nearly killed by a planned arson.

Matthias wouldn’t stand for that, not in a million years.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to kill the man. Perhaps he could just rough him up and then leave the rest to the police. It would be much more boring than any cop shows he had watched when he was a child, but for Matthias it was the lesser of two evils. He would rather go his whole life without murdering someone, but jailing was more normal, more expected, somewhat more routine.

He slipped a ski mask over his face, trying to ignore the twist in his gut as he imagined what would happen if Lukas had ever found out about what he was doing instead of that history report he needed done by Tuesday.

The locks were easy to melt down, a simple chain no match for a strong spark or two from his fingertips. He coated his hand in flames as he twisted the knob open, wincing as the rusted hinges groaned in protest. He was pretty sure that there were no camera systems that currently worked in the dilapidated building, but loud noises were a dead giveaway. Matthias formed a fireball in his palm and let it hover a few inches above his shoulder, lighting up the boxes close to him. Moonlight leaked through the holes in the roof, illuminating the clean concrete floors, as well as the boxes that were, judging by the smell, filled with kerosene and lighter fluid.

Matthias quickly extinguished his flame, sticking his hands in his pocket. One stray park could make this room a gigantic bomb and turning him into a pile of ashes.

“Okay, so far no crazy arsonists.” Matthias pulled the ski mask away from his mouth a bit, feeling uncomfortable with the now-wet fabric clinging to his lips. It felt weird being around literal bucket fulls of flammable liquids, and yet having to keep his fire under wraps. Again, his thoughts strayed back to Lukas and his frowning face as he would see the bags forming under his roommate’s eyes. Teasingly, the shorter male would ask if had pulled an all nighter to study, and Matthias would just laugh and yawn before demanding a coffee before he said anything else. It was an easy way of buying time to make up an excuse, especially since he stuttered a lot when he was making up excuses.

Lost in his thoughts about the morning routine (no there wasn’t a knot in his throat what are you talking about), he nearly didn’t notice his shadow growing in length. Trained reflexes kicked into high gear before rational thought could halt the motion. A fireball jumped to life in his hand as he spun around and threw it like a little league pitcher.

He almost wanted to shout out “It’s-a me!” before the resulting explosion blew him back eight feet. His back slammed into a barrel, and Matthias felt his hand being covered in liquid. Groaning, he lifted his hand up, and the oil trickled down his arm into his folds of his elbow.

That wasn’t good.

Pushing himself to his feet, Matthias could feel that his right leg was also soaked in oil, as well as some of his shirt (which was an honest to God shame because these were really nice, comfy clothes and oil was not going to wash out with one cycle). He cracked his neck and shook out his hand, trying to flick off as much of the flammable liquid as possible.

“I’m impressed.” Matthias’s eyes snapped to the lone figure standing on the other side of the room. He was dressed in a light blue shirt and jeans, but his face… It was a mass of light, constantly flickering and changing, keeping his identity hidden, and Matthias was reminded of a strobe light at a rave. “How you survived that, I have no clue, but I’m afraid that this has already been decided.”

A strong light lit up above Matthias’s head, and looking up he scrambled to his feet when he saw the large hand floating above him. “It was nice meeting you, at least.”

And then things kind of got confusing.

The hand started to slam down onto Matthias, but something collided with him before he could move. Looking down, he saw a smaller boy in a gasmask with his arms wrapped around his chest. He let out a yelp when the back of head hit the floor, black spots danced in his vision, but he distinctly heard a yell from the other side of the factory.

Matthias shook his head, taking slow deep breaths as the boy pulled away from him. Strobe light was clutching his wrist, a thin line of red across pale skin as he glared at another new person. Matthias couldn’t make out much before Gasmask was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and thrown to the side be a fifth person, who had a hoodie covering most of his face. Their skin was a silvery color, and Matthias could confirm that, when he was picked up by the throat, that his skin was made out of cold metal.

At this point Matthias was so done with everything—what, with not two, but four other supers fighting it out in the middle of the factory, and with one of them strangling him—that he didn’t really care about his powers. Embers danced in his palms, and he threw his arms out in front of him, trying to burn the Tin Man to the ground. A stream of flame flew from his palms, and Matthias saw Tin Man’s neutral expression change into panic as his wrists were grabbed in one hand and forced above his head. The grip around his throat tightened, and the Dane was struggling to breathe before the Flash came and knocked the taller male to the ground.

The factory was near silent except for Matthias coughing, struggling to regulate his breathing. Two other sets of steps came closer, and the Dane opened his eyes to see the four supers standing in front of him.

“You’re the arsonist? You?” Said the Flash, the words barely audible through the breathing apparatus on his mask. “You act like a two year old!”

“I… I’m not—” Matthias broke down into another coughing fit, already feeling the bruises forming on his neck.

“But you have pyrokinesis.” Matthias looked at the only unfamiliar individual of the group. Dressed in a light t-shirt and tight pants, three knives hung from his belt, and there were two pistol holsters on his legs. A cloth was tied above his nose, hiding his eyes and the top of his head.

Matthias decided to call him Daredevil.

“Just because I have pyrokinesis doesn’t mean I’m an arsonist!”

“You were here before me,” Said Strobe light, and Matthias could somehow tell that he was being glared at. “And at the time, you were the only one here. You’re sounding more and more like the guy I’m going after.”

“How many times do I have to say that I’m not an arsonist before you believe me?” Matthias pushed himself to his feet, embers circling his hands in rage. Remembering the oil soaking his leg, he took a deep breath and curled his fingers into fists, keeping the stray sparks from igniting his clothes.

“Take off your mask.” Tin Man mumbled, drawing everyone’s attention. “We know what the arsonist looks like. You want us to believe you? Take it off.”

“And I’m just supposed to take your word?” The arsonist’s name, along with his hideout location and what he looked like, was difficult for Matthias to find on his own, and he didn’t know if the other supers were backed by a government team or not. Not only that, but he didn’t want to give away his own identity either. For all he knew, Daredevil was trained to kill Supers like him for a hefty price (though the Dane doubted that he was worth more than a hundred dollars, at best).

“Either take it off willingly or we rip it off your head.” Strobe Light threatened, the tips of his fingers surrounded in a white aura. It was either potentially getting killed later for being a Super, or get killed now for false charges. Sighing, Matthias grabbed the ski mask and pulled it off, running his fingers through his hair and feeling them snag against knots that had formed throughout the day.

“There, happy?” Matthias stuck the mask in a clean pocket and hunched his shoulders, feeling nervous under the four equally strong stares. “I’m not the guy, alright?”

Strobe Light’s mask flickered, a single, terrified blue eye peeking through before the man turned away, muttering something in a foreign language. Daredevil backed away, fingers twitching over the hilt of one of the knives strapped to his belt. The Flash covered his mouth, like he was about to scream and had to hold it back. “…What? What am I missing here?”

“Matthias?” The Tin Man, the only one to not show an external reaction, muttered his name. It was barely audible, leaving his mouth in a rush of breath, but it was just loud enough for the Dane to hear. He growled, his upper arms wrapped in flames and singing the edges of his shirt sleeves.

“How do you know my name?” He demanded, letting his flames jump towards the other man threateningly. Tin Man opened and closed his mouth before the metal faded and turned into normal skin as he pulled his hood down. Matthias stared in shock as the other Supers removed their masks one by one, each looking around in a mixture of shock and confusion.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.” Matthias whispered as he looked at his four friends, all of them supers, and one of them was his roommate, Lukas.

Well, at least he wouldn’t have to lie tomorrow morning.

**Author's Note:**

> You have NO CLUE how hard it is to find out the names of various masks, and also figure out which masks each member of the Nordics would have. Like, god damn, it was so freaking hard. I was planning on making this a one-shot, but I want to post the first half and then get out the second half. This is also unedited, so if there are any tense-changes/spelling errors/anything super wrong then let me know!
> 
> So, again, this is inspired by Artisserie's AU, and the post that has all of their powers is right here: http://theartisserie.tumblr.com/post/129424422267/introductory-post-for-the-au-that-ive-been Please check them out and give them all the credit for this!
> 
> Other little notes:  
> \- Personal headcannon that Matthias loves to play video games and read comics, so he often refers to his powers as 'Fireflower' or hums the Level 1-2 theme from Super Mario Bros. if he's sneaking around.
> 
> \- The nicknames given by Matthias are all references, except for Lukas' (which is, of course, because his 'mask' was just Lukas manipulating energy to make the constant flicker effect).
> 
> \+ Tin Man is a reference to the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz. I was originally planning for Matthias to call him Cyborg or Terminator before settling on Tin Man, as it fit the best.
> 
> \+ The Flash for Emil is, obviously, a reference to The Flash from DC Comics. It was either this or Sonic.
> 
> \+ Tino's nickname is a reference to Daredevil from Marvel. For those who don't know, Daredevil is a vigilante who is blind, but can still fight crime due to hypersensitive hearing that maps out the area around him.
> 
> \- I actually asked Artisserie if Matthias' powers would prevent him from being burnt from external sources (in this case, his pants lighting on fire from the oil). The answer was yes, so I had to change by reasoning for Matthias stopping his powers from "his leg will get burnt" to "he'll ruin a good pair of cargo pants if it catches fire." I don't think of Matthias as a materialistic person, but hey, cargo pants are pretty damn comfy if you find a good pair.


End file.
